alone because you will find you use so much more of it. You must have a little thimble and always use it or your finger will look cramped when working. Have you noticed how pretty ladies look when sewing? Well, you must do as they do, tap your needle with the thimble to send it through the material (Figure 1).

Fig. 1. The way to use your thimble

Have you ever wondered and wondered why it is that buttons have the horrid habit of dropping off just when you wanted to dress quickly or take Sally Ann walking? Well, I will whisper the reasons for this: the first is, that the thread might have been worn out from active service; or the thread used might have been weak; or lastly, which is probably the true cause, the button might have been sewn too close to the material and came off the first time it was used. Mother may not be around to help you when the accident happens, and would you not feel proud to sew it on for yourself?

To sew a button on securely you should make a pin-hole where the button is to be placed. A four-hole white button is the easiest to work on. Thread a No. 7 needle with a length of No. 40 white sewing cotton, bring the ends together and make a knot. The right length thread is measured from the tip of the thimble finger to the elbow. When a thread is used double it should be twice the length of this. A neat knot is made by holding the threaded needle in the right hand and by taking the end or ends, as the case may be, between the thumb and first finger of the left hand. Keep the thread tightly stretched, wind it around the top of the first finger, then move the finger down the thumb, carrying the thread with it about half an inch. Now with the nail of the second finger bring the knot thus formed to the end of the thread.

A large ungainly knot is a disfigurement to a piece of sewing. You are now ready to adjust the button; place the knot on the upper or right side so that it will be concealed; after adjusting the button put a pin across the top and sew securely through the holes, crossing the threads. Sew not less than three times through each hole. Remove the pin. Insert the needle from underneath, then bring it out between the button and cloth close to the centre of the button. Wind the thread tightly around the neck of the button three or four times. (The neck is the threads between the button and material.) Wrapping the threads around protects the stitches and allows room for the buttonhole to lie under the button. Take the thread through to the wrong side and take up three stitches, make a short stitch on the material and cut the thread close (Figures 2 and 3).

Figs. 2 and 3

When a three-hole button is used the stitches form a triangle on the top of the button. A shoe-button should be sewed with a No. 2 needle and coarse black thread. The stitches are taken through the shank of the button. Fasten off the thread after sewing on two buttons, for if they are all on one continuous string or thread and that breaks, all the buttons are apt to come off. If each button is securely fastened the thread may be passed, however, from one to the other.

Fig. 4. Even basting

Fig. 5. Uneven basting

Now I know you want to do some real sewing; it must not be big or you will get very tired and think sewing is not as pleasant as you fancied. The simplest stitch in sewing is basting. This is used to hold materials together until you are ready to make firmer stitches. In the following illustration the even and uneven basting stitches are shown (Figures 4 and 5). They must be straight. Even basting stitches should be taken about a quarter of an inch apart and in the running stitch which is fine basting about an eighth or a sixteenth of an inch. Pretty huck pillows can be made of even and uneven basting or running stitches. A leaf, star or a figure cut out and traced on a piece of muslin will make a nice design for running stitches (Figure 6).

Fig. 6. A simple design in running stitch

If you will examine different kinds of materials before they are cut, you will note that the threads run in two directions. The threads running lengthwise must be the stronger, as they have more strain on them. They are called the warp. The warp is set up first before the weaving begins. The threads running crosswise are called the woof. It is the weaker thread and forms the edge or selvage.

If you will take a card three inches square and prick a line of dots half an inch from the top and bottom edges and prick a line a quarter of an inch apart you will have a little loom. The dots must be directly under each other. A piece of coloured worsted and a large-eyed crewel needle No. 2 will be required. Make a knot at the end of your thread and start from the upper right hand hole on the wrong side. Bring your thread up through the hole and down through the lower right-hand dot. The needle must now come up through the next hole at the bottom and the thread be again stretched across the card.

When every hole has been filled and you have several rows of straight lines, fasten off the worsted in the back. Another shade of wool should be selected so that you can distinguish the warp from the woof. The thread you are now going to use is the woof; commence at the top and go straight across to the left line, up over and down under each thread and so on till the row is completed. In weaving the next row, pick up the threads of the warp that you went over last time. Alternate rows agree (Figure 7). When finished, the little piece can be used as a doll's mat.

To darn your stockings is almost as simple a matter as this weaving. Instead, however, of starting the thread of the warp on an even line, as on the card, start some higher than the others. The reason for this is that an even line will be apt to make an uncomfortable seam in your stocking. The woof threads are always connected to the stocking. A darning ball should be used under